Deck 9: Controlling Global Armaments

Question 1

International security regimes include all of the following EXCEPT

A) arms reductions agreement.
B) quantitative and qualitative limits on armaments.
C) geographic prohibitions on where arms may be deployed or used.
D) efforts to reduce poverty, thus improving human security.

Answer 1

efforts to reduce poverty, thus improving human security.

Question 2

Qualitative restrictions as part of arms control regimes include all of the following EXCEPT

A) the numbers of weapons systems in a country?s military arsenal.
B) limitations on research and development, test and evaluation of weapons systems.
C) prohibitions on weapons testing.
D) the location where weapons systems are deployed.

Answer 2

the numbers of weapons systems in a country?s military arsenal.

Question 3

Nuclear test restraints include provisions that prohibit nuclear tests

A) in the atmosphere.
B) in the ocean.
C) both choices A and B
D) neither choice A nor B

Answer 3

both choices A and B

Question 4

The SALT II Treaty that put quantitative limits on strategic weapons systems

A) was ratified in 1979 after much debate.
B) was never ratified by the U.S government, its provisions quickly abandoned by both the United States and the Soviet Union.
C) was not ratified, but its terms remained in effect by executive agreement between U.S. and Soviet leaders.
D) was ratified by the United States, but NOT by the USSR.

Question 5

The START agreements

A) reduce offensive armaments.
B) reduce the number of defensive armaments.
C) prohibit nuclear testing in the atmosphere and oceans.
D) prohibit arms transfers to Iran and North Korea.

Question 6

Which of the following nuclear weapons agreements led to an actual reduction in the number of nuclear weapons?

A) SALT I
B) SALT II
C) START
D) the Wassenaar Arrangement

Question 7

Which of the following areas is covered by a treaty prohibiting nuclear arms being deployed there?

A) Antarctica
B) North America
C) Western Europe
D) the Middle East

Question 8

The problem of determining whether states live up to what they have promised is the problem of

A) certification.
B) treaty commitment.
C) verification.
D) transparency.

Question 9

Of the following, which requires the most robust war fighting capabilities?

A) deterrence or defense by denial
B) minimum or finite deterrence
C) deterrence by assured destruction
D) defense by damage limitation

Question 10

In deterrence theory, which of the following is considered the most stable strategic nuclear doctrine?

A) deterrence or defense by denial
B) minimum or finite deterrence
C) deterrence by assured destruction
D) defense by damage limitation

Question 11

This doctrine calls for having perhaps 100 or fewer nuclear weapons.

A) deterrence or defense by denial
B) minimum or finite deterrence
C) deterrence by assured destruction
D) defense by damage limitation

Question 12

Extended deterrence

A) is designed to protect allies.
B) extends the time deterrence is effective.
C) to date has not been part of alliance arrangements.
D) extends protection not just to populations, but also to military capabilities.

Question 13

Minimum deterrence

A) is best suited for extended deterrence.
B) usually targets counter-value targets.
C) was the doctrine of the United States for most of the Cold War.
D) seeks to destroy the adversary?s conventional weapons.

Question 14

Strategic nuclear force posture refers to the numbers, types, and locations of forces required to do any of the following EXCEPT

A) deter aggression.
B) defend against aggression.
C) keep allies from becoming enemies.
D) engage in warfare, if necessary with nuclear weaponry.

Question 15

A stable nuclear deterrence relies on

A) destroying counter-value targets.
B) destroying counterforce targets.
C) having second-strike capability.
D) a small number of high-yield nuclear weapons.

Question 16

It is likely that new nuclear powers have capabilities for

A) mutually assured destruction and damage limitation targeting.
B) widespread counterforce targeting.
C) establishing minimum or finite deterrence.
D) deploying a very large number of warheads.

Question 17

Mutual assured destruction depends upon

A) war fighting capabilities.
B) a credible first-strike capability by at least one state.
C) a credible second-strike capability by both states.
D) effective communication between both states.

Question 18

Deterrence theory developed during the Cold War remains relevant because

A) we need to keep our guard up in the event a communist regime returns to power in the Russian Federation.
B) there is no other theory that adequately explains mutually assured destruction.
C) it helps explain or predict the actions of new nuclear (or potentially nuclear) weapons countries.
D) nuclear weapons are the weapon of choice of most major countries.

Question 19

Problems associated with arms transfers include all of the following EXCEPT

A) inability to control end use.
B) the money spent on arms thus cannot be spent on national development.
C) they contribute to regional arms races.
D) they reduce profits to defense-industry arms exporters.

Question 20

A major concern continues to be proliferation to non-nuclear states and disaffected groups of nuclear weapons or weapons technologies from

A) the Republic of South Africa.
B) the Russian Federation and the former Soviet republics.
C) Sweden.
D) Serbia.

Question 21

The ?usability paradox? applies best to

A) conventional weapons.
B) nuclear weapons.
C) terrorist groups.
D) land mines.

Question 22

Which country(ies) has moved away from developing nuclear weapons capabilities?

A) Brazil
B) Argentina
C) South Africa
D) all of the above

Question 23

The 1993 Chemical Weapons treaty

A) allows nations to keep existing stockpiles.
B) allows nations to develop new types of chemical weapons.
C) does not require the destruction of existing stocks of chemical weapons.
D) permits on-site inspections of facilities.

Question 24

MANPADS are

A) land mines.
B) a type of chemical weapon.
C) antiaircraft missiles.
D) grenade launchers.

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT directly associated with verification?

A) national technical means (NTM)
B) telemetry
C) transparency
D) finite deterrence

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT a key aspect of force posture?

A) number of forces
B) types of forces
C) location of forces
D) budgetary cost of forces

Question 27

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

A) controls nuclear weapons stockpiles.
B) inspects nuclear power plants.
C) tests nuclear weapons.
D) builds nuclear power stations.

Question 28

The Wassenaar Agreement deals with

A) nuclear weapons.
B) conventional weapons.
C) chemical weapons.
D) biological weapons.

Question 29

The Non-Proliferation Treaty Tutorial website covers

A) nuclear weapons.
B) chemical weapons.
C) biological weapons.
D) all of the above.

Question 30

Qualitative and quantitative restrictions on armaments and armed forces are the most common types of arms control agreements.

Question 31

The Nobel peace prize was endowed by a man whose earlier invention of dynamite contributed technologically to weaponry, even though his hope was that such destructiveness would make war less likely.

Question 32

There is a treaty that prohibits the placing of nuclear weapons in orbit or on the moon and other celestial bodies.

Question 33

Deterrence by denial requires relatively few offensive forces.

Question 34

Mutually assured destruction is the least stable strategic nuclear doctrine.

Question 35

A city is a counterforce target.

Question 36

Both India and Pakistan employ minimum nuclear deterrence.

Question 37

The originator of the concept of mutually assured destruction (MAD) coined it to highlight how ludicrous the term was.

Question 38

North Korea has attempted to develop nuclear weapons capabilities.

Question 39

Biological weapons were used frequently by the major powers during the cold war.

Question 40

What are the major agreements affecting nuclear weapons? Which do you think are the most important? Why?

Question 41

Why are biological and chemical weapons so potentially destructive? What has been done to limit their production and use?

Question 42

Discuss and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the various alternative deterrence doctrines.

Question 43

Discuss the strategic nuclear doctrine of mutually assured destruction. What does it rely upon? How did it affect the military spending and arms control agreements of the United States and Soviet Union during the Cold War?

Question 44

What is minimum deterrence and how does it apply to such cases as India and Pakistan as newly emerging nuclear powers?

Question 45

Why is nuclear proliferation such a serious issue? What actions have been taken to limit it, and how effective have they been?

Question 46

Why is the global arms market considered a problem by many? Which country is the leading exporter and how can you explain its actions?

Question 47

On balance, have nuclear weapons contributed to security or have they tended to undermine it? In this regard, how do you respond to the claim that if nuclear weapons did not exist to act as a deterrent, there would have been even more wars waged by conventional, non -nuclear means?

Question 48

How does John Lockeʹs conception of the state of nature differ from that of Thomas Hobbes? In which understanding of the state of nature would weapons more likely be needed for security? Why?

Question 49

What do states and private-sector interests expect to gain from engaging in the global arms trade? What potential costs, risks, or constraints do they face in doing so?